However, if one wants to maintain the term "Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)", it is a defendable view to exclude chemical and biological weapons, but put together with nuclear weapons all those that actually has killed millions of people in civil wars since World War II. These are mainly assault rifles, like AK47s, handguns, and land mines, to a lesser extent mortars, fragmentation bombs, and hand grenades.

WMD DEFINITION IS CONSTRUCTED BASED ON "SUPERIORITY" OF ONE SET OF WEAPONS TO ANOTHER

Another way of seeing weapons of mass destruction correctly would come from comparing one nation's technology with another. When one nation has only a cavalry on horses and another has tanks, those with the tanks would possess the weapons of mass destruction in comparison, even though they may exist contemporaneously. The tribe with bows and arrows faces a weapon of mass destruction when their rival has a Hotchkiss gun or a howitzer. The massive destruction may not come from a single application weapon, but, if the end result is a mass killing, could not the application apply? With CBW, a single weapon such as anthrax is, in reality, many thousands of germs disseminated over a large area.

ANY WEAPON WHICH CAN KILL LOTS OF PEOPLE USING CHEMICALS, DISEASE OR RADIOACTIVITY

Identifical definition is used in FY97 National Defense Authorization Act, Public Law 104-201, September 23, 1996 (quoted at

(1) The term "weapon of mass destruction" means any weapon or device that is intended, or has the capability, to cause death or serious bodily injury to a significant number of people through the release, dissemination, or impact of--

(A) toxic or poisonous chemicals or their precursors;

(B) a disease organism; or

(C) radiation or radioactivity.

THE FBI DEFINES WMD BY DEGREE OF DAMAGE INFLICTED BY IT USE

FBI, "The FBI and Weapons of Mass Destruction," August 1999 (http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/norfolk/wmd.htm)

"Mass casualties and extensive property damage are the trademarks of weapons of mass destruction, making their detection, prevention, and destruction an FBI priority. A weapon of mass destruction (WMD), though typically associated with nuclear/radiological, chemical, or biological agents, may also take the form of explosives, such as in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1995. A weapon crosses the WMD threshold when the consequences of its release overwhelm local responders."

WMD ARE LARGE DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES NOT JUST LIMITED TO NUCLEAR, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL

In 1994, Congress established the legal definition of a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) in 18 U.S.C. 2332a. Basically, they are large destructive devices such as vehicle bombs (conventional weapons of mass destruction - CWMD) and chemical, biological or radiological weapons usually triggered by or incorporating a destructive device (special weapons of mass destruction - SWMD). This action by Congress continued the official policy of the United States in regard to terrorist acts, treating them as criminal conduct."

Yet another definition defines WMD as a deliberate or unintentional event involving a nuclear, chemical, radiological weapon or device, or large conventional explosive, that produces catastrophic loss of life or property. A large explosive event is also considered a WMD because initially the cause of the explosion has not been determined and the resulting damaged site may contain a radiological, biological, or chemical agent.

Weapon of mass destruction" is a generic term for radionuclides, biological and chemical agents or materials, and their delivery means produced or used for non-peaceful purposes and whose effects can cause large numbers of casualties and/or large-scale material damage.] and their delivery means constitutes a threat to international security and is a matter of concern to NATO.